Biblical Perspectives in a Postmodern World by Freddy Winter – San Diego, California

Father Abraham

So many times I have heard pastors and others say, read your Bible daily, make sure you go to church often. I know people who get up very early in the morning to do their devotionals or have certain routines in their daily walk. Before you misunderstand me, I agree that we as believers should be in the word and study it. I also believe that we need to be in fellowship with one another to sharpen and encourage each other. Prov 27:17.

The reason I’m writing this is because I was thinking about Father Abraham.

The Bible teaches that we as believers in Jesus Christ are sons and daughters of Abraham. “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Gal 3:7.

That made me think, most of us have more than one Bible, we read and study it and we go to church. We have home fellowships and study groups, conferences, conventions etc. We are on the social networks sharing our faith with others and so on. These are all good things and we should and need to share our faith with others that may not yet know the Lord. On the other hand there are many that claim to be Christians that go to church on Sundays, listen to the sermon, give an offering and think they’ve done their duty.

Is that’s what it takes to be a Christian? What about Abraham whose name was Abram when he was called by God to leave his country of Ur and to go to a place God would show him? Abram was a gentile i.e non-Jewish when he was called and through him and his son Isaac the nation of Israel came into existence. Abraham was before the law that came 430 years later through Moses. Abraham did not have the law, the Bible, a church to attend or any of the things that we enjoy today. Yet God declared Abraham justified and righteous.

What was is that made Abraham righteous before God? Was it his works or a weekly routine? Did Abraham do any of those things that get emphasize in the churches today and people feel obligated to do them, thinking that otherwise they are not alright before God?

There are many that feel condemned if they don’t read the Bible for a few days or miss church a few times. Is that what God requires of the believers? I don’t think so.

Now again, don’t get me wrong, as believers we should know the scripture and they should be on the heart of every true believer just as King David said: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11.

As I mentioned before, Abraham did not have the scriptures as we know them today. He did not know the written law, but God declared him righteous. Abraham was declared righteous because he of his faith and he believed God and His word. “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Gen 15:6.

Abraham believed God and His promises. It was faith and faith alone and not his works that gave Abraham a righteous position before God. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” Rom 4:2.

Just as the Galatians did in the days of the apostle Paul, so many people today think that they are justified because of their works. That is contrary to what the word of God teaches.

“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Gal 3:2, 3.

Believers in Christ Jesus are justified and declared righteous before God because of their faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross through His blood. He has done it all for us and there is nothing that anyone can do to improve on that by works. It is by faith alone. Believers are saved by His grace through faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph 2:, 9.

Just as Father Abraham believed God, so must we come to Him by faith. The law, works, the physical church or certain denominations cannot save a person, neither can a pastor or anybody else. It is by believing in Jesus Christ that saves a person.

The thief on the cross had a change of mind/repentance in the last moments of his life, no works to speak of, yet Jesus told him that he would be in Paradise with Him. It was faith that saved the thief. And so it is with every believer, we can read the Bible over and over again, attend church 5 times a week, but the only thing that truly saves is faith.

Please don’t stop reading and studying your Bible or stop going to church, that’s not what I am trying to say. I have met so many people in person and online that think that they are obligated to do certain things in order to be alright with God. The only way to be alright before God is to believe.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

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Author: Media 4 Life Ministries

I consider myself a biblical Christian and a follower and disciple of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My blogs are from a biblical perspective in a postmodern world. I love to study the Bible and the truth which it brings forth and applying those biblical principles into my daily walk with the Lord.
Freelance Photographer and Photo Editor.
Contractor for the Media Department at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego.
I love to write and I have a passion to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ, utilizing the internet.
Administrator for Church websites and other ministries. I like reaching out via the social networks to people around the world, that are less fortunate or just need some encouragement in their walk with the Lord.
It is not about religion, it is all about a loving relationship with Him Who saved me. All the glory belongs to Him and without Him, I can do nothing.
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May the Lord bless you all. God is good all the time, all the time, God is good.
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16 thoughts on “Father Abraham”

Hi Freddy we are a lot in agreement which I thank God for, Jesus is our only Teacher by the empowering of The Holy Spirit, yes your Pastor is right we are to check the Scriptures for confirmation and a wise Leader or Sheppard will encourage this for correction if needed. God does indeed and has done for many years used the foolishness of preaching, His Truth is everywhere but sadly so are Satan’s lies, they are like a flood seeking to sweep away the Truth…. but God’s Word will last eternally His Truth cannot be polluted only twisted by false and deceived teachers but it will not remain tangled, God has given us many earthly resources to proclaim and uplift His Truth and our Blogs are one of them and thankfully you have others.

Hebrews 1 : 2- 8 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High: Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him. And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a Sceptre of Righteousness is the Sceptre of thy Kingdom.

As you said Freddy The Godhead, They are One having the same seed Jesus is not an Angel and never was He is The Living Word and The Living Water, our Lord and Saviour, The King of Kings Lord of Lord whose Name or Nature is above all …the Godhead 3 in one.

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One.

I think you misunderstood me Anne, my Pastor does not believe that Jesus is an angel as the SDA or others do. Angels are created beings. There are different classes of angels, Seraphim, Cherubim etc. Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer/Satan are of the highest class of angels (Cherubs). Depending on the context, angel can also mean messenger as for example in Revelation, to the angel of Sardis write…..which would be the pastor or overseer of the church. The Bible also speaks about the Angel of the LORD (Angel capitalized A ) Who is the pre-incarnate Christ in the OT that appeared to Abraham, Haggar, Moses, Joshua, Balaam and many others. Whenever God appeared to man physically, it was in the person of Christ. It was Jesus that walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was Jesus that met with Abraham. It was Jesus that talked to Haggar. There are so many more appearances of Christ in the OT, too many to write them all down now. My Pastor was not dogmatic about Revelation 10 as it’s speaks of the mighty angel. He simply stated that some believe that it speaks of the Lord being this mighty messenger. I for one do not believe that this mighty angel is the Lord. He just gave us different perspectives and commentaries on chapter 10 that are written by various commentators. As I said in my former comment, I do not just believe anything that someone teaches or believes, I am like a Berean and test it for myself with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. My Pastor is a real good teacher and he is a good shepherd over his flock. He has been a Pastor for over 35 years and he always says not to take his word alone but to check it out for ourselves as we study the word. Btw, please let’s not go back and forth on this angel thing. Jesus is not an angel, neither was He created or just a spirit being, He is God in the flesh. I believe that Jesus is the second person of the the triune Godhead, co-equal, co-eternal etc. He always was and always will be. He is the creator and sustainer of all things.

Hi Freddy we are talking about Salvation so we are to be of the same mind but we are not to argue with others about worldly understanding and so I always refrain from doing this, but I will affirm God’s Truth, still I can only plant the seed.

I do not agree with a woman being in Authority over men or teaching in the flesh but I do believe we are all called to share God’s Truth and correct error within our role and I do so under God’s Authority as I learn from Jesus in submission and silence, meaning without argument He is our only Teacher through the empowering of The Holy Spirit and teaches us all things.

As for Jesus being an Angel this is not affirmed in Scripture and was one of the beliefs that Spurgeon had in error, it was passed on by Helen White who plagiarised Theologies Teaching of her time adding her own fleshy understanding. Helen was one of the founders of the S.D.A. who were originally part of the J.W. and sadly they retain a lot of their false teaching. Jesus has showed me in Scripture why it is not True about Him being an Angel which I would be happy to share with you if wanted on this Blog or by e-mail, your choice.

If you can accept this Freddy we will grow and mature together, you have much Truth that I’m in agreement with the rest is to be understood according to revelation from the Lord as confirmed in the Scriptures but please be assured I’m for you not against you I believe that God will use anyone greatly who is seeking Him with all your heart like you do but you need to put away all man’s understanding and ask God for His wisdom and believe you have received it.

You see Anne, that is a beautiful thing, we can agree to disagree on certain issues that are not essential to salvation. At least we as believers in Christ Jesus can have a civilized discussion about things without getting angry or hateful unlike some other religion that I will leave un-named. I just had a disagreement with my friend and pastor the other day about Revelation chapter 10 where he taught that the angel is the Lord. It made some good points and I am studying it. Some of my commentaries do not believe that it speaks of Jesus because of the Greek word “another” which in the concordance says of the same kind as the other angels. Angels are created beings and Jesus is not. He is God, the Great I AM and always existed. However, my Pastor and I had a nice conversation about it and he explained why he believes that it talks about Jesus. I will be like a Berean and look in to it. That does not mean that I don’t like him anymore or think that he is wrong on this particular issue. Sometimes it’s good to raise some questions or write something that not everybody may agree with, but it can also lead to someone seeing it from a different perspective. Peter and Paul disagreed on certain issues and Peter later praised Paul. I gotta run, we have service tonight. Be blessed, Freddy.

accept your apology Freddy and I also apologise, I too have been rash in my words with all the problems I have had and there has been much more then I have voiced on my Blog, but now I’m aware what is really happening and will monitor it more closely.

I Love you in the Lord Freddy, your my Brother in Christ Jesus we may not at this time agree on everything but that will be resolved as we seek The Lord together. Please read the link, I hold no animosity personally towards you Freddy or anyone else and never did but sometimes I step back to evaluate a situation and pray about it but I always seek restoration when the time is right, sadly it’s not always received but today is another day.

Sorry that you have so many problems, it is not in my settings. Sorry that I was a bit harsh, but my blog is just a side thing that I do and I can’t look at it all the time. I do online ministries for my church and for myself. I maintain and administrate several websites and social media sites besides producing and editing videos for phone apps and online ministry. I hope that you won’t encounter your problem with posting in the future. I assure you that I do not delete any comments unless they are scams or abusive in nature. I had many harsh comment from non-Christians on my other social sites and I left them on their for all to see and in the public court of opinion. Blessings, Freddy.

Freedy do you think I enjoy having these problems I could not even post my comment here yesterday it would not let me and yet you have it on your Blog today so you work it out, I believe it may be WordPress Control they have access to every Blog, so lets see what happens in the future but I will be taking Screen shots of all my comments in future

I tried more then once at least 3 times and you can’t do that with imagination and have the same results.

Sorry for your inconvenience if you were in the same situation I would seek to help not abuse. Of course please do remove all Testing comments and this one. Regards Anne

I’m not moderating anything and nothing is in my trash! I’m not sure what your problem is, but it starting to annoy me. I don’t like to be accused of something repeatedly that I didn’t do and no one else seem to have problems leaving comments. I will delete your “testing” comments now.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

Many people misunderstand what it means to do something by faith. Romans 4:2 was talking about the works of the law of Moses and not the works of faith that justified Abraham (James 2:21-24). The Bible says Abraham was saved by faith because Abraham responded/acted upon the word of God that he was given (Genesis 22:12; 26:5; Hebrews 11:8-12).

I agree Freddy if we think reading our Bible, tithing and going to Church saves us we are in deception but we remember Faith without good works is dead, that is why Jesus said go away you never cared for those who were hurting, hungry or you never visited the sick etc God has prepared good works for us to do and He equips and motivates us to do them, the same as we don’t continue to walk in sin when we are Born again we walk as Jesus did, our lives reflect His indweling presence when we are perfected in Love and we think as He thinks because we have His mind and our choices are the same as His so we don’t choose to sin.